The company's history dates back to 1924, the year when Radio Luxembourg first went on the air. Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion (CLR) was founded in 1931. As a European pioneer, the company broadcast a unique programme in several languages using the same frequency. RTL Group itself was created in spring 2000 following the merger of Luxembourg-based CLT-UFA and the British content production company Pearson TV, owned by UK media group Pearson plc. CLT-UFA itself was created in 1997 when Bertelsmann AG (shareholder of UFA) and Audiofina (shareholder of the historic Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion CLT) merged their TV, radio and TV production businesses.

In July 2001, Bertelsmann became majority shareholder of RTL Group following a stock swap with the Belgian-Canadian holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL). In December 2001, Bertelsmann entered into an agreement with Pearson plc to acquire its 22 per cent stake in RTL Group. Bertelsmann’s interest in RTL Group is now 91.2 per cent. The remaining 8.8 per cent of RTL Group is publicly traded on the Brussels and Luxembourg stock exchanges.

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